Free Will Is Our Nature
by misguidedghost77
Summary: A collection of completely unrelated oneshots and drabbles that have been sitting in my folder for far too long. The title makes reference to Team Free Will, because Dean, Sam and Cas are the only ones I usually write about. Will probably contain Destiel. Rated T for light swearing.
1. Two Worlds, One Family

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to Supernatural._

_**Author's Note:** So hey! Welcome and thanks for dropping by. This is merely going to be a collection of drafts and one-shots I've been writing over two years. Truth is, I almost lost all my stories when my hard drive crashed a few weeks ago, so tonight I decided in a whim to go and post the drafts that are at least decent. I want to clarify that none of these "stories" are going to be continued, except if somehow the stars align, I miraculously get time and peace out of nowhere and my muse returns from wherever they've been hiding for two years. So, unfortunately, these are mostly plot bunnies and ideas I've had. You're welcome to contact me if you like some and want to write them yourself, too. Like I said, this is a rash decision I made -which I may regret at some point, even though there was no alcohol involved- to share some of the stuff that's been sitting on my folder for ages. Why, you ask? Frankly, no idea. _

_Each mini story will have its corresponding description, and I apologize in advance because none of these have been carefully thought out. It's just me getting rid of my extreme supernatural feels by writing crap, as usual. I also have a FMA:B crossover story somewhere around there but if I ever decide to put that one up it's going to be in a separate story. But that story is really really underdeveloped and... god Lett stop blabbering. Don't mind me. Sorry._

_I decided to start with this one because it's one of the first, and chronologically speaking, it's the oldest. I would be lying if I said I didn't hope you like it. I do, but shh!_

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**Story Title:** _**Two Worlds, One Family**_ (haha the title was inspired by the Tarzan soundtrack song)

**Characters/Ships:** Castiel

**Description:** Castiel is a soldier of Heaven, stationed on Earth. He has trained extensively for battle, but he has been idle for centuries now, with no orders, and doubt begins to eat at his mind. Until Heaven calls, with the strangest assignment: Rescue a human soul from Hell.

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The woman was slightly baffled. No matter how much she talked to her baby girl, and pointed at things through the window, the toddler wouldn't stop giggling at the empty seat of the bus. Her big brown eyes were fixated on that seat, but not on the seat itself. She was looking at something at eye level, almost as if there was somebody there. And the woman had never seen her daughter more delighted at something – it was way into the third half hour and she hadn't fallen asleep or gotten upset. And considering Lily had a tendency for crying and fiddling of boredom after the first fifteen minutes of the daily commute, her mother was starting to get worried. She touched the baby's forehead, but it wasn't warm. The other passengers of the bus seemed equally surprised – most of them were usuals, and since Lily and her mom had been taking that bus for two months now, they all knew how annoying the little girl could get. The woman realized this was definitely something when the teenager with the black clothes and bubblegum pink, spiky hair took off her headphones to stare at Lily. Just as the rest of the passengers, she turned to look at the empty seat, trying to see if there was something that could have caught the baby's attention, but then she exchanged a puzzled look with the man of the overcoat and the newspaper that usually sat next to her. Lily, completely unaware of the attention she was suddenly getting, kept grinning at the empty seat. If her mother had known that the seat wasn't actually empty, she might have been quite concerned.

The man in the trenchcoat stared curiously at the baby girl, without smiling. He wished he could find out what the toddler was thinking, or feeling. But Castiel was so used to ignoring his urge to know that he didn't find it hard to suppress the feeling anymore. He looked away from those large brown eyes and noticed that the passengers of the whole bus were staring at him now. Well, most of them. The filthy homeless guy at the bottom was too drunk to care. Even though he knew they couldn't see him, Castiel felt a tiny twinge of something itching inside. Like a warning. He ignored it for another second, still gazing into the eyes of Lily, the baby girl, but then he decided his curiosity would not be satiated by staying here, and he reminded himself he couldn't contact anyway, so he stood up, careful to avoid accidentally brushing anyone with his wings, and vanished.

Lily frowned, and her mother detected sudden disappointment in her pout, the same she did when a toy was taken from her. The woman sighed, preparing for what she knew was going to come.

Two stops later, everybody's trail of thought had returned to their daily worries, the same look of annoyance in all the passengers' faces. The bus driver put his music up to try and drown Lily's loud crying, but once again and like every day, it was useless.

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Castiel never knew what happened to Lily. Before she even understood what had happened, he was far away, in another city, in a different country, observing a couple of teenagers walking down the riverside, hand in hand, whispering secret words of love into each other's ear every ten seconds.

Castiel was an angel of the Lord, and that meant he was a soldier. As a soldier, he'd never complain about the task they had been assigned, but his patience was beginning to tire out. After five thousand years of human history, he was starting to wonder if he was ever going to receive any assignment. He was part of the garrison that was stationed on Earth, waiting, always waiting for orders. He didn't dislike being on Earth, over the centuries he had grown rather fond of observing humans, but there was always this itch inside of him, this curiosity for understanding them, getting to really know them. To read their minds and hearts, to feel what they felt. Castiel had found it difficult to restrict himself at first, especially considering that he, like all angels, needed a vessel, and it was hard not to peek into every single memory of the human he was living in, but in time all of their memories faded, and their personalities were consumed inside his light. As a result, he knew very little about humans, really, other than deducing some basic things from mere watching – men usually liked women and vice versa, but there were exceptions; humans reproduced a lot, and loved and tended to their children… usually; they had to do this thing called "work"; they were emotional creatures, but then they could also worry themselves to death over material things, etc – which normally only confused Castiel more.

Of course, he had no experience with that kind of life, since angels were very different. They did not feel emotions. They had a unique characteristic that singled them out: Each angel had a human quality, but only one. When Castiel was young, he and the other angels of his garrison had to discover which was their quality. Castiel's was curiosity. Anna Milton, his former superior, had compassion. Balthazar had confidence.

But if an angel interacted with a human for long enough, they started to acquire human characteristics and emotions. In time, they could become almost human, the only difference being that they would be much more powerful than an ordinary human, and every angel knew this was dangerous. Only the four archangels were allowed to interact with humans as much as they wanted –the archangels had the same emotion range than humans did. Castiel had never questioned why God had created them like that. It was the way things were. And it was not his place as a soldier to question his superiors.

Nevertheless, he had learnt enough about humans to understand they were dooming themselves. The amount of suffering, pain, death, disease, poverty had increased dramatically in the last two centuries or so, and in his opinion, it was threatening to get even worse than the Middle Ages. So he had begun to wonder why God let this happen, why Castiel's garrison was still idle, why he didn't receive orders to… do something. But these questions were buried deep inside of him, and he wouldn't talk of them to anyone. It would be hard to say if he was even conscious he was harboring doubts.

Time meant little for an angel billions of years old. People died and were born and the sun went up and down and Castiel barely registered any of it, to the point that he was still mulling over the shock it had given him, and the entire garrison, when Anna had rebelled and ripped her own grace. She wasn't the first, of course, but the last time an angel had become human had been hundreds of years ago, so it was quite the thing. Twenty years later, it was still the only thing the members of his garrison talked about when they ran into each other.

Lily, the baby girl from the bus, would likely grow up, and die of old before they found another subject to discuss.

That was why the urgent summon from Heaven came as a complete surprise to him.

He materialized instantly in the meeting point for the Earth garrison angels, and exchanged surprised looks with Uriel, Hester and Rachel, who were closest to him.

"Do you know what happened?"

The women shook their heads, but Uriel –good old funny Uriel– leaned closer and whispered.

"I am not sure, but I think the demons are up to something."

Castiel frowned. The demons were _always_ up to something, but that didn't mean it was relevant for them.

"What could they possibly be doing that has called the attention of the higher-ups?"

"I have no idea," the other angel confessed.

And then they all felt it. The pull inside, the sudden brightness, the wave of joy at being touched by a purer being, something perfect that reached down and talked to them, mere soldiers. They could all understand the idea without need for words, and the images they were presented with stuck in their memory with perfect detail.

One conscience raised from between the angels and asked a question. _When do we start?_

_Now_, was the answer given, and when Castiel opened his eyes he barely got a chance to exchange glances with his brother and sisters before they all disappeared in a rustle of wings.

By the time Castiel blinked again, they were all set. It all happened so fast that he didn't have time to marvel over the fact that they were being called to battle, that the horn had been blown. He didn't have time to dwell over his surprise. He wouldn't have wanted, anyway. They were soldiers, and this was what they had been prepared for. Their minds were set on the objective, and nothing else mattered.

They stood in line, white rays of light staring at the pit of darkness that lay beyond the Gates of Hell.

A few demons that were lingering at the Gate, probably trying to wiggle their way out to Earth, scattered away, but one or two ran inside, to issue a warning. It was useless. The angels were laying siege to Hell. A battle like nothing ever seen before was about to start, and Castiel felt only a sense of completion, of finally doing what he had been created to do.

Even so, it wasn't war, technically. It was more of a rescue mission. The orders were clear: Find the human Dean Winchester and drag him from perdition. Any demon that stood in the way would be eliminated. They had also been warned that the demons had probably hidden him as deep as Hell could get, since that human was key. Strange it seemed, that a weak, fragile little human soul would suddenly become so important to Heaven, but Castiel never questioned his orders. Orders were orders.

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_And that's as far as it goes, sorry. Although maybe someday, in the far future, I will pick this story up and develop Dean and Cas' relationship from here. I liked the idea of soldier!Cas and wanted to delve a bit into it, and explore all of his confusion in early S4, when his formation as a soldier (and Naomi poking at his brain too, probably) collided against his doubts and desire to help Dean, until it ultimately resulted in his rebellion. That was the idea for this story. But as you can see, it was never continued. Time is never on my side, friends. If I ever do decide to continue it, you'll be the first to know, though._

_This "story", meaning the general fanfic, will continue with a few more drafts and oneshots, completely unrelated. See you soon._


	2. A Very Valentine Destiel

_A/N: So I finally decided to put up a few more of the silly little fics I've been writing over the years. Mostly guilty pleasures of mine, and none too recent, sadly. Nearly all of them are set in seasons 8-10. But I don't know. Maybe someone out there can have a laugh over these little stories, or cry, or something, I guess. Anyways._

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**Story title****_: A Very Valentine Destiel._**

**Characters/ships:**_** Castiel, Crowley, Dean, Sam, Kevin. Destiel.**_

**Setting: ****_After the season 8 finale, Cas has become human and Dean and Sam make him stay at the bunker to keep him safe from the fallen angels that want him dead. _**

**Summary: ****_It's St. Valentine's and Cas, recently turned human, is very curious about the meaning of love. To understand this notion, he turns to music… and the former King of Hell. Half songfic, half crackfic._**

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"Don't forget the pie."

The young boy gave him an exasperated look before stuffing the pie in the plastic bag. "It's fifteen and thirty."

Castiel fished his pocket for the change, to no avail.

"I don't have thirty cents. Can I get something else for the change?"

The cashier nodded, looking bored.

"Over there. All that."

Castiel turned around and looked to the shelf the boy had pointed at, and blinked at the amount of pink on the small shelf. It was filled with candy and heart-shaped chocolates. A huge sign with pink bubbly letters read _What is love to you?_

"St. Valentine's," the cashier said, and Castiel turned to look at him again, confused.

"What?"

"It's St. Valentine's."

Cas stared at the boy, still confused, but he had learnt by now what humans did when something was repeated to them and they still didn't understand. He nodded with an expression of sympathy.

"So are you gonna get anything?"

The former angel hurriedly picked up a heart-shaped chocolate.

"Sixteen dollars."

Cas paid and took the bag from the kid's hands. "Thank you."

"Have a nice day."

Cas sighed as he exited the shop and walked back towards the bunker, deep in thought. Although he was starting to "get the hang" of being human, as Dean said, there was still so much he didn't understand that it was unnerving, to say the least. Castiel was relieved that he had survived the first couple of weeks adjusting to the needs of a human body, and to the strong emotional reactions he could get. The first time he had felt the need to use the restroom, he had asked Dean about it, and he could still feel the pang of pain and shame that assaulted him when Dean first laughed and then became upset. After describing the feeling he was so unfamiliar with, Dean told him it was something called embarrassment. Castiel had experienced the feeling a few times more, and by now he had learnt more or less what triggered it, and how to avoid it. It had been surprising to the angel how strong the need to avoid certain feelings was. He knew pain, and he knew regret, but he had never felt the need to avoid them before. They were something natural, a consequence of a series of events, the result of something he shouldn't have done. But his motivations had always been entirely different. He always tried to do the right thing because it _was_ the right thing, not because doing otherwise would make him hurt.

But now, as a human, he felt an urgent need to lean towards things that would give him some sort of satisfaction, and to avoid things that triggered guilt, pain, embarrassment, misery, and countless other emotions. He had been curious about it at first, and had tried to be objective, but after a while he had given up and allowed his brain to tell him what to do and what not to do.

In addition to that, there were a lot of other things he wasn't supposed to say or do or think, according to "social rules", like Sam had put it when Castiel had begun to strip while they were walking to the shop, because it was a rare, hot afternoon.

He often wondered if this was how human babies felt as they grew up. There were millions of things to learn and understand, and even if Castiel knew some thing or other about humans and had been almost human once, he still was blatantly ignorant of most human traditions.

That was why the first thing he asked poor Kevin Tran as he entered the bunker was "What is St. Valentine's?"

Kevin rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time, sighed, and patiently explained to Castiel that it was a special date that celebrated love and couples, supposedly, but that it actually was something created for companies to make you consume particular products. Castiel picked up the chocolate from the bag and asked if it was wrong to buy them. Kevin said it was not, not really, but that he wouldn't be able to give it to anyone anyway because there weren't any women in the Men of Letters bunker. To which Castiel asked if he could give it to Dean, and Kevin choked, coughed and with a look of shock headed for the door without another word. Cas asked him just as the kid disappeared from his sight what was love to him, but Kevin probably didn't listen, for the reply he shouted from the door was "Be back in a coupla' hours."

Castiel was left sitting at the huge table in the main hall of the bunker, wondering what the hell he had done wrong this time. For a moment he thought of asking Crowley in the dungeon, but then he quickly dismissed the idea. What could a former demon know about love?

And Dean and Sam were away on a hunt, so there was nobody else to ask.

He eyed the computer longingly. According to Sam, you could find anything in the Internet, a concept Castiel understood, since it was like God: it was everywhere. How were humans able to access that only through a computer was the part Cas had a little trouble understanding. He had learnt how to use the TV, the record player in Dean's room, and he thought he could figure out Sam's ipod, but the computer was a little harder.

The laundromat had been a completely different thing. How was Cas supposed to know there was a limit of soap you could put into one of those monstrous things? Anyway. Back to the real question.

What was love to Cas?

Fingers drumming on the wooden table, habit he had copied from Kevin, he struggled with the term. For angels, love was what you felt for God. But the human concept of love was quite different, Cas guessed. He knew Dean loved Sam and Sam loved Dean, but they had terrible fights too. They would give their life for one another, and that, apparently, was key to the definition of love. But Cas was confused because he would give his life for any of them, any time, and that didn't mean he loved them, did it?

Or rather, he did, but the love that Sam and Dean felt for one another, and the love Cas felt for them, was not the kind of love St. Valentine's was about, if he had understood Kevin correctly. It was romantic love, which was supposed to be between a woman and a man. But there were also men in love, and women in love, and then where was the difference?

Deep down, Castiel suspected he was so confused because he couldn't define what his feelings were towards the elder Winchester. Cas had been sure of himself and Dean, his best friend, until he had fallen and become a human. The emotions were troubling him intensely ever since. For example, it was only last week that he caught a glance of Dean walking out of the shower, wearing nothing but a humid towel that stuck to every curve in his body, and Cas had felt his breath hitch and his heart hammer inside his chest. Since the last time something like that had happened was when he watched the pizza man video, he knew he wasn't supposed to talk about it. More confusing was that time that he woke up from a beautiful dream where Dean and he were sleeping in the same bed, Dean's arm around Cas' waist, and the feeling of loss he experienced when he woke up and realized Dean was sleeping in his room and not with him was horrible.

The only time he had timidly dared to ask Sam if he had ever dreamt about dancing waltz with Dean, the stare he had received in response was enough to keep him quiet about the subject ever since.

That could only mean one thing: Castiel would have to find out the meaning of love for himself.

He took a deep breath and nodded to himself decisively before standing up and heading towards the countless shelves of books stashed everywhere in the bunker. But after an hour of fruitless search, he realized he wasn't going to find a book about love in the whole place. He did find out how to kill (or gank, in Dean's vocabulary) numerous monsters and beasts, but nothing about love.

If he couldn't use the computer, and he couldn't find any explanatory books, he would turn to music. He would let the words of experts tell him what love felt like, and if he was in love with Dean or not.

He directed his steps towards what felt like the natural place to start. Dean's recorder and his shoebox full of cassettes. Half of his collection still rode in the Impala with him, but Cas knew after Sam's indiscretion that leaving part of himself in the bunker meant a great deal to Dean, so Cas knew to be extremely careful when handling his best friend's prized possessions. Actually, he had never checked them before, since Dean wouldn't let him, so now that he was truly alone in the bunker he took his time to investigate.

The titles on the cassettes alone sounded weird to him: Metallica, Motorhead, Supertramp. What kind of music was this? He inserted the cassette labeled Metallica and hit the "play" button. The amount of loud screeching that came from the recorder almost deafened him permanently before he hastily stopped it.

With a frown of disgust, he flipped through the cassettes, until he found one labeled "Zep II". He knew that Dean had an unhealthy obsession with the band named Led Zeppelin, so he decided he'd give it a try, although after the Metallica fiasco he wasn't so sure.

But the tunes that came out of the recorder were softer. It was nothing like classical music, Cas' favorite, but it was a little more decent than the first cassette.

_"__Way way down inside, honey you need it. I'm gonna give you my love. I'm gonna give you my love."_

Cas frowned again in confusion. Was this supposed to explain the meaning of love?

He stopped the music and removed the cassette. The next one he tried had a title a little less unnerving. "Houses of the Holy".

The soft melody that struck his ears when he hit play was not what he was expecting, and it hit somewhere deep in Cas's heart. He instinctively pressed his eyes shut, soaking in the strange feeling that filled him. If he had known better, he'd say it was a mix of melancholy and longing.

_"__This is the springtime of my loving – the second season I am to know. You are the sunlight in my growing – so little warmth I've felt before. It isn't hard to feel me glowing – I watched the fire that grew so low."_

Now this was more like it. He could understand this poetry. Was this Dean's definition of love?

_"__It is the summer of my smiles – flee from me Keepers of the Gloom. Speak to me only with your eyes. It is to you I give this tune."_

At that point in the song, Castiel's heart twisted in his chest, clenching with sudden pain, as he imagined Dean speaking to him through the lyrics. He snapped his eyes open. This hurt. He hurt, because he wanted Dean to open up to him. He wanted Dean to talk to him. Was this love? Was love supposed to hurt like this?

_"__Ain't so hard to recognize – These things are clear to all from time to time,"_ the voice sang to him, and Castiel pressed the stop button.

"Easy for you to say. You were born human," he snapped angrily at the invisible man singing.

Frustrated, Cas rummaged the shoebox, but after trying a few more cassettes he gave up. He sighed. Dean wasn't the kind of person to talk about feelings, so it wasn't likely that the music he liked would speak about them, either.

But Sam, Sam was more of an emotional person.

Cas's scowl of frustration turned to a mischievous grin as he returned the box to its place and exited the room, heading for Sam's.

Fifteen minutes of fruitless search made the scowl return to his face, though. Where on Earth could that kid have left his ipod? Now, Cas knew that Sam didn't take the ipod everywhere with him, so it had to be here at the bunker, but where?

And then it hit him.

Only God could know what had possessed Sam to make him leave his ipod to Crowley, but Cas wasn't about to ask. He directed his steps towards the dungeon, and as he opened the double-doors, he was greeted with a sigh.

"I thought it was my prince Moose coming to rescue me from this barbaric place," Crowley said with a deep sigh.

"You are no princess, Crowley."

"That's rude, it hurts my feelings."

Castiel rolled his eyes.

"I need Sam's ipod. I know he left it to you."

Crowley shook the chains that kept him tied to the chair.

"I can't move, Castiel. I thought someone as smart as you would have noticed."

"Where did Sam put it?"

Crowley grinned. "Oh, I don't remember."

Castiel squared his jaw, beginning to lose his patience. Of all the demons roaming the Earth, Dean and Sam just _had_ to pick the most annoying one to perform the third trial on.

The former demon's grin widened. "What would you be willing to give to know where it is?"

_Seriously?_

"I'm not making a deal with you, Crowley. It didn't go so well last time."

"Aw, is that irony I am hearing in the mighty Cas' voice?"

Castiel rolled his eyes, and did not reply. Instead he walked around the bound man, looking for the ipod in the ground.

"Really, Cas? Do you think Sam would have left it on the floor?"

"Then I'm going to have to check you."

Cas didn't wait for an answer, but he was disgusted when the demon grinned at him, Cas's fingers feeling the back pockets of Crowley's pants.

"A little lower. Lower. Ah, there! Aw, Cassie, you've got fingers of gold."

Castiel tried to avoid thinking how much pleasure it would give him to _kill_ Crowley right now, but it was getting harder and harder.

Finally, he found what he was looking for in the chest pocket. But rather than returning to Sam's room to play it, he sat on the ground right in front of Crowley. If the demon wanted war, war was what he'd get.

He began to scan through Sam's library, ignoring the man sitting in front of him, but the names of the singers were completely unfamiliar to him. And then he found a playlist named "Jess".

Cas was more than familiar with that name. He knew perfectly well that Sam had loved her deeply, intensely, and was probably still in love with her, even long after she'd died. Maybe this was just what he was looking for.

He went through the songs, and the name of those made more sense: "I Miss You", "She Will Be Loved", "Everything I Do I Do It For You". He frowned a little at "Angie", "Strange Kind Of Woman" and "The Scientist".

He chose the song named "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You", and the small dungeon was suddenly filled with a deep, vibrating voice.

Crowley rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on, you're not gonna play that here, are you?"

But Cas ignored him, as the man sang. _"Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can't help falling in love with you…"_

_Was this love?_

Crowley shifted in his place, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "I didn't know Moose was so cheesy in song picking."

Castiel glared at him. "The playlist's named 'Jess'."

Crowley stared at him. "Jess as in…?"

"As in the girlfriend your friends killed."

Cas' voice was freezing cold, and Crowley ceased to move. Meanwhile, Elvis kept singing.

_"__Take my hand, take my whole life too. Cause I can't help falling in love with you."_

Cas moved on to the next song, that had deep guitar chords. A broken voice began to sing.

_"__She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak. I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box four weeks. I've been drawn into your magnets on this trap."_

"Oh, come on!" Crowley burst out, but Cas ignored him.

He thought this wasn't helping. It made him think of Sam, not of Dean. Each and every song reflected his personality and how he viewed his girlfriend.

The next song was a little loud for Castiel's liking, and he was tempted to pass it on, but then the lyrics started.

_"__Hello, I've waited here for you, everlong."_

"This is more like it," Crowley whispered. "Did you know that Grohl has a deal with me? His time's almost up, though. The fool asked for his fri-"

"Shut up, Crowley!" Cas snapped, as the song reached the chorus.

_"__And I wonder, when I sing along with you, if everything could ever be this real forever. If anything could ever be this good again. The only thing I'll ever ask of you, you gotta promise not to stop when I say when she sang."_

Castiel began to feel the frustration again taking hold of him. Between Crowley's complaints and the songs, which made no sense at all, he was getting only more and more confused. What was love? Was it sacrifice? Was it longing? Was it desiring to be with the other person at all times? If that was it, he was definitely in love.

But there had to be more to it.

_"__Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again. Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am whole again,"_ sang the next song.

Oh great, more coincidences. This wasn't helping.

_"__Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am young again. Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am fun again. However far away, I will always love you."_

Free, clean, Dean made him feel all that. Didn't he?

On to the next one. He liked this one. It started with nice violins… and then the singer screwed it.

_"__I could stay awake just to hear you breathing. Watch you smile while you're sleeping, while you're far away, dreaming."_

At that part, he suddenly imagined Sam, watching Jess sleep, with a loving look on his eyes. And something inside of him stirred. Something hurtful.

_"__I could spend my life in this sweet surrender. I could stay lost in this moment forever. Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure."_

That was something Sam himself could have said. And Cas finally identified the emotion pulling at his chest. It was pain. Pain for Sam, for the innocence he had lost, for what he had gone through, for his loss. And just like that, all of a sudden, Castiel's eyes filled with tears.

_"__I don't wanna close my eyes, I don't wanna fall asleep, cause I'd miss you, babe, and I don't want to miss a thing."_

He looked at Crowley, half expecting a pun at his tears, and he was shocked speechless when he saw a thick tear run down the former demon's cheek.

"Stupid Moose could have saved her. I could have brought her back for him. He should have given up on his hero life and stay with her."

And then he noticed the way Cas was looking at him. "Wha'? You don't think someone like me would recognize love?"

Castiel stopped the song, and the dungeon was filled with an uncomfortable silence.

He was almost afraid to ask.

"Do you?"

Crowley shifted in his place, and looked away, clearly upset.

"'Course I don't."

"Then why would you say that?"

"It's everywhere. Love is in the air!" he shouted, half defensively, half mockingly. "Don't you know what day it is? It's Valentine's!"

Castiel narrowed his eyes at him. "You're lying."

"It's not my fault you don't know what day it is, Cassie."

"Don't call me that!"

"Uh-oh, the former angel is angry, I am so _scared_!"

But Cas smiled. He thought he knew what Crowley had felt. He had felt the same. He played the song again. Crowley looked away, and then to the roof, and then everywhere but at Cas. Even so, as the second chorus was finishing, another tear fell down his face.

Castiel grinned evilly.

"Just turn it off, will you!" the demon burst out.

"I don't think I will," he teased, but after a few more seconds he did. "I can't believe a song can break down the ex King of Hell."

Crowley looked positively angry now. "This isn't like me! That trial… it messed me up! I don't cry at songs! I don't _cry_!"

Cas was tempted to keep teasing Crowley. For some reason he couldn't comprehend, it seemed fun. But he had come here with other things in mind.

He needed to know if he was in love with Dean Winchester or not.

And if Sam's songs were to believe, he was.

Wait, he was? An angel, in love?

"Castiel?"

When he looked back at Crowley, the realization dawned upon him.

"I love him!"

Crowley looked aghast. "You love Sam?!"

"No, you idiot. I'm in love with Dean!"

The demon burst out laughing, and the walls of the dungeon echoed his raspy laughter. But when Cas didn't reply, his laughter died and he looked straight at Cas.

"Hell, you really do."

The initial exhilaration that had swept through Cas faded away, and he began to feel uncomfortable when the consequences began to dawn upon him. What if Dean didn't love him back?

The former demon grinned. "Boy, you're in so much trouble."

Sam stretched as he got off the car. He was going to sleep two days in a row after the massive fight they'd had today with the rogue angel that wanted Castiel dead and was willing to do anything to find out his whereabouts… including torturing Dean.

He shot a worried glance at his brother, but as usual, Dean didn't let anything through. His face was straight as ever. He wasn't going to spill. As if he had felt Sam's stare, Dean looked up at him over the roof of the Impala, with a question in his bright green eyes.

"Who cooks tonight?" Sam asked, in response to Dean's unspoken question of _what?_

"Not me," Dean shook his head as his fingers clicked the alarm and the car beeped. "I'm tired as hell."

"Should I ask Cas?"

"Definitely. No, wait, better not. Last time he prepared homemade burgers he almost kills us, remember?"

Sam smiled, but not so much at the memory. He smiled because he saw Dean's eyes glimmer at the idea of being home, and because he did catch the tiny smile in Dean's lips at the memory. His elder brother chuckled.

"Alright, I'll make dinner. You go to sleep, Sammy. You did a helluva work with that angel back there."

Sam's smile widened, but he did not reply. He was thinking of staying up just to mediate between Cas and Dean, or to go check on Crowley, when the door opened before them, and a very scared Kevin Tran ran out and crashed against Sam's chest.

"Whoa, Kevin, what's up?"

But Dean, the eternal hunter, aimed for his gun. "What happened? Were you attacked?"

Kevin swallowed. "No, no, nothing like that. But… Cas…" he struggled with words, and Sam read in his eyes that he wasn't scared; he was shocked. "You'll see. I'm going out again. Be back in a few hours."

With that, he slipped past Dean and walked past the cars and up the road that led to the highway.

The Winchesters exchanged a glance of utter confusion.

"Oh, and Dean? I didn't do anything, I just found them like that," the kid added from afar.

Dean's eyes became serious.

"_Them_?"

After another knowing glance, they quickly made their way in, but the image before them froze them on the spot.

Crowley and Cas were sitting at the huge wooden table, the screen before them lit on, showing the last scene of the movie "The Notebook". The table was littered with bottles of Jack, and DVDs.

Sam approached the table and picked two of them. "'My Best Friend's Wedding'? 'City of Angels'? What have you two been doing?"

"Cas, why did you let Crowley out?" Dean inquired, frowning.

But his frown turned to horror when Cas looked over his shoulder and it became obvious that he was very, very wasted.

"Dean!"

He tried to stand up and turn around to look at them, but the movement was too much for him, and he fell sideways, flat against the ground.

"Cas!"

Dean hurried towards his best friend, while Sam walked closer to Crowley. To his shock, the former demon was crying like a little girl, thick tears running down his face, obviously wasted as well.

"H-he just wanted h-her to remem… remember him!"

Sam exchanged a horrified look with Dean, whose neck was currently surrounded by Cas' arms.

"D-deaan…" Cas slurred, blue eyes fixed on the elder Winchester's face. "Deean… I love you…"

Dean looked at Sam, pleading with his eyes, and suddenly Sam found the situation very funny. He snorted, and Dean glared at him.

"Sam… don't even think–"

That was all it took for him to burst out laughing.

"Sam, man. C'mon, help me. I'm your elder brother, give me a hand here."

But Sam grinned. "I think I'm gonna take your offer and go to bed. Good night."

Dean's look of outrage was the last thing he saw before heading to bed, his booming laughter echoing in the hallways. And then he sighed, shaking his head. Dean would have to face reality sooner or later. Crowley wouldn't be a problem, but Cas...

With another smile, he understood why Kevin had scurried away before. Poor kid must have gotten traumatized for life.

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_End of this mini-story._


	3. Here, At The End Of All Things

**Story title: _Here, At The End Of All Things._**

**Characters/ships: _Everyone still alive by Season 11._**

**Setting: _This is what I personally imagined what the end of Supernatural might have been like if Season 11 had been the last, albeit with a "happy ending" which we know doesn't happen a lot in the show. This was written during last year's hellatus and it isn't finished, but I always make notes of how a story is supposed to end and in this case I kept them so you know where it was headed. But by the time we knew nothing about the Darkness and I was particularly keen on the idea of an agender Darkness, something of a formless creature, I don't know. So Amara is not featured in this story as we know her._ **

**Summary: _The Darkness must be stopped, and only a ragtag team of every friend and foe the Winchesters have made over the years can be enough to vanquish the Darkness. But it also requires sacrifices, and Sam and Dean and Cas are glad to have each other here, at the end of all things._**

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_Note: I'm assuming a number of things here that should be mentioned. 1. Gabriel makes a fantastic return in the few final episodes and comes up with the solution to the Darkness. 2. Rowena and Metatron are still on the loose. 3. Death is not dead._

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After waking up, they did everything as if it was any other normal day. They packed up in the motel, Sam made sure they weren't leaving anything behind, and put the bags in the trunk of the Impala. Then they went to a diner for breakfast. For once, Sam ordered bacon and eggs, same as him. They ate in silence. Dean tried to make a joke but Sam merely forced a sad smile, so he shut up.

When their stomachs were full, they rode to the nearest post station, and Sam wrapped his laptop in a small pack and left it at the post. Dean hoped the delivery would reach a safe, living Garth, but he couldn't be sure.

Then the long ride began. Dean didn't want to think, but his mind was wracked. So he reached down and turned on the stereo. He switched the radio for the cassette, but the song playing at the moment was not the best choice –In My Time Of Dying- so he removed the tape and put in the oldest one he owned. Ramble On blasted inside the car, and Dean glanced at Sam just in time to catch a small knowing smile.

The five hour trip to Omaha, St. Louis was spent listening to music so loud that when they stopped at the gas station Dean could barely hear the gas boy's voice. He did remember to play Sam's favorites too, obviously.

But when they reached downtown Omaha he pulled the Impala to a stop in a dark alley, and they both automatically got out of the car at the same time. Sam stared at him over the roof of the car, but Dean's throat was a knot, so he opted for going to pick up the guns. He couldn't help but run a hand over Baby's sweet curves, and wondered if she'd be okay. He should have had her delivered to Garth as well, but he couldn't let Baby out of the loop of the final showdown.

He opened the trunk and handed Sammy the bags with the guns, but before he shut down the trunk his phone rang. He pulled it out. It was Cas.

He didn't want to do this now. He touched "Ignore" before slamming the trunk shut, with more force than necessary.

"You should say goodbye to him," Sam said.

"I can't."

Uncomfortable at having no more obvious actions to do, he stared at his baby brother. "Sam…"

Sam knew what he was thinking, as usual, and his nostrils broadened a bit, like every time he was experiencing a strong emotion. Dean felt his eyes water a bit and hated himself for it. But he steeled himself enough to say it before John's voice in his head –_grown men don't cry, Dean, man up_\- took over.

"I just wanted to say, if we don't get to see each other again either in Hell, or Heaven, or Purgatory, or wherever we end up, that I'm proud of you, Sammy."

Sam's eyes watered.

"I'm sorry for every time I said otherwise."

Sam forced a smile. "It's okay."

"And I couldn't be happier that this time we're together, as it should be, little brother."

Sam nodded. "Me too. I know I've made mistakes, and so have you, but I'm glad that we're cleaning up our messes for good this time –together."

Dean felt something dark growing inside him and knew he needed to do this quick before giving in to his instinct of keeping Sam away from all of this. Every part of him knew this was what had to be done. That Death had been right. That the world needed to be rid of the Winchesters –both of them, and at the same time. But still, he couldn't deny that all he wanted was to knock Sam out cold and head into battle alone, even if it was just so that Sammy wouldn't have to see him die. Again.

But this needed to be said, because there would be no come back. There would be no post-life meeting. This was his last chance, and he wanted Sam to know, before it was too late.

He couldn't look him in the eyes, and stared at his fingers, fidgeting the Impala's keys. "I- I'm…"

Sam smirked before looking down again, knowing what he meant. "It's okay."

Dean shook his head and tried to swallow the knot on his throat. "No, I gotta-"

"No chick flick moments, remember?" Sam said with a knowing smile.

Dean looked up at his baby brother, remembering that first hunt after years of not speaking to each other, and he suddenly wished they had stayed apart then. A lot of things wouldn't have happened.

He stared at Sam and they said everything to each other without need for words, dumb eyes watering again. "Bitch."

Sam chuckled and took that final step separating them, and hugged him so tight Dean couldn't breathe. "Jerk," he muttered on his shoulder.

At that precise moment, Dean's phone rang again. They broke the hug awkwardly and Dean stared at the name on the phone. Cas.

"You should pick up."

But Dean ignored him again. Then Sam's phone rang.

Dean shook his head. "He doesn't need to hear it, Sam."

But his brother disagreed. "He's our friend. He needs to hear it," he picked up. "Hey Cas."

Sam stared at Dean. "Yeah, he's here. I know. Hold on," he offered Dean the phone. "Talk to him. He deserves it."

Reluctantly, Dean picked up the phone and turned around, walking away from Sam. "Hey Cas."

"You didn't answer me."

"I know. I…. It's not a good time, Cas."

"I know."

The line was silent for a few seconds.

"I thought you might at least tell me what you're going to do," Cas said. His voice sounded strange on the phone.

"You know what we have to do. There's no need to go into detail about this."

"Still, I don't like your choice of outfit for the final… showdown."

Dean frowned. "What? What the… Son of a bitch."

He turned around and as he expected, Cas drove his stupid beige Lincoln Continental into the alley they had parked, smiling like an idiot as he hung up the phone.

Dean sighed.

"What the hell, Cas!"

Beside him, Sam looked down, trying to hide a wide smile and failing.

Cas parked the car and walked out, dressed in a grey jacket, jaded jeans and brown leather boots, the sky-blue shirt underneath slightly open at the chest, showing a bit of collarbone. He sported a five days stubble and moustache. Dean felt deeply uncomfortable at the sight, it reminded him of something bad, but he couldn't figure out what.

Sam walked forward and wrapped Cas into a bear hug. "I like the outfit."

Cas looked at Dean. "I thought it was fitting to the occasion."

Then Dean's mind clicked and he remembered where he had seen Cas dressed like that. In that terrible vision of a dark future Zachariah had showed him, many years ago, when Sam and he were still meant to be Lucifer and Michael's vessels.

"How did you know…?"

Cas offered him a sly smile as he walked closer, Sam staying behind. "I've seen many of your visions, Dean."

"I don't like it."

"Well I do. It's comfortable."

Cas opened his arms for a hug, but Dean stepped back.

"You don't need to be here, Cas."

Cas sighed. "In fact, I do. It was all part of the deal."

Now something dark clicked inside Dean. "What? No, _you_ were never part of the deal."

"Oh, don't I love surprises," a sly voice said at the turn of the alley.

Dean felt his jaw hardening, and he strolled towards the youngest of the four archangels, who had just waltzed into the alley. "You son of a bitch. You didn't need to pull Cas into this!"

He reached Gabriel and took him by the collarbone of his shirt, barely holding himself from punching his face into a pulp. The angel held his hands up, smirking.

"Whoa there, Deano! What, did you think the two of you knuckleheads was enough to stop the fucking Darkness itself?"

"Well that's what you told us," Sam chimed in behind them. "You said we had to- the sacrifice and all."

"And I thought you were the clever one, Sammy. If it took God and his archangels to beat back the Darkness the first time, did you seriously think a human sacrifice would cover it?"

"And what else will it take? Who else are you going to sacrifice? Why Cas?" Dean yelled, shaking Gabriel.

"Oh, he didn't tell you?" He side eyed Cas. "Cassie?"

Cas looked down. Dean let go of Gabriel and turned to him.

"Cas?"

Cas stared at Gabriel. "I didn't think it was necessary for them to know until the very end. They would have tried to stop me."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I agree. Classic Winchester drama."

Sam walked closer to Cas, frowning as well. "Cas? What are you talking about?"

"It takes a lot more than a human sacrifice to stop the Darkness. It takes angels, demons, and archangels fighting together."

"And more," Gabriel confirmed.

"More?" Dean said, feeling absolutely like shit. "What more?"

"Wait," Sam said. "What archangels?"

"All of them," Gabriel replied. "Well, except Raphael 'cause Cassie here turned him into tomato sauce a few years ago."

Sam's eyes widened. "The Cage! You've opened the Cage!"

Dean felt himself going cold all of a sudden. "You let them out? You LET THEM OUT?"

Gabriel held up his hands. "What, do you think I'm an idiot? Of course not! I've made a deal. I'm going to use their strength."

"At what price? You didn't mention that when we talked." Cas said, frowning.

Dean stole a glare at Cas. Why did he always have to do these things?

Gabriel sighed. "Well, I promised I would go down there with them for the rest of eternity. Which is precisely everything I ever wanted, by the way." He glared at Sam and Dean. "Now I'm going to have to spend the rest of my days mediating between my brothers, both of who have tried to kill me before and who want to kill each other, and all thanks to you! You couldn't just die and let your brother be sent all over to space, could you Sammy? And you, Deano, you couldn't just let Cain go, right? Now we're in this whole fucking mess, because of you! So don't give me your awkward little frowns and angry glares because I'm the one making the greatest sacrifice here!"

The alley fell silent as a tomb.

Dean exchanged a glance with Sam. He felt sudden great respect for the little trickster angel.

"You're more badass than I'd thought."

Gabriel rolled his eyes and curtsied. "Why, thank you, Dean."

"You're really going to lock yourself up in the Cage with them?" Sam asked.

"That's what I just said."

"But you can still communicate with Heaven, right?" Cas said.

Gabriel nodded. "If I want to. But I don't think there's anything those dumb angels can do. No angel is more powerful than Michael and Lucifer."

"But, wait, how…" Sam began, but Gabriel sighed dramatically again.

"Do I have to explain everything to you? The laws of time and space, Heaven, Hell, Earth, the Cage, etc., don't apply to me. I'm both an archangel and a trickster. I can do whatever I want. Except dealing with my family, it would seem."

Everyone fell silent again at such a declaration.

Gabriel's mouth twisted in a smile, and he crossed his arms.

"But we were in the middle of a lovers' reunion, remember? So go on, please. It's fun to watch. Weren't you about to tell them why you're going to die, Cas?"

Dean stared at Cas again. "Die?"

Cas looked down. "Sacrificing my grace is a more accurate term. But as a human I will not be able to survive the battle ahead."

"No," Dean said firmly. "I won't have it."

"You're late, Dean. He's already given away his grace," Gabriel chimed in.

"What?!"

"I needed it for the spell that will let me commune with Michael and Lucifer in the Cage and convince them to let me use their strength."

Dean felt something shatter inside him and stared at Cas in stunned silence.

"And you didn't think to tell us first?" Sam yelled.

Cas suddenly looked smaller. "You would have tried to stop me."

"Hell yes I would have!" Dean screamed. "You didn't have to do this! We would have found another way!"

"There _is_ no other way!" Gabriel yelled. "You boys and your drama are sickening me. Here's how it goes: The Darkness needs to be defeated, weakened, in order for the lock to be set again. God is not here to fight, so I will have to do. But such a fight of epic proportions would destroy the human race, so after searching a fucking lot, I found a spell that will allow us to protect you funny little apes."

"And the ingredients for the spell?" Sam asked.

"Three humans willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity, alongside some angel mojo that I can provide."

"But why Cas!?" Dean yelled.

Gabriel glared at him, touching his own temple. "Not very bright, are you. Because he has exactly all I need. He is the one angel that would give away his grace, so why not use him for the spell? It's clean, and it doesn't put other humans in harm's way. I thought you, the voucher for humanity, would understand."

"It's okay, Dean," Cas said.

"No it's not fucking okay!"

"But our time is running out," Gabriel reminded the group. "Do you want to defeat the Darkness or not?"

Dean exchanged glances with Sam. No, they weren't okay with this. But they didn't have time to argue anyway. And Cas was already human. For an instant, Dean wished he still had the Mark of Cain on so he would punch Gabriel into shreds.

"You're an idiot, and I'm not talking to you," Dean growled at Cas.

The former angel widened his blue eyes. "But Dean, I-"

"Don't but-dean me."

Cas turned to Sam for help. "Sam, you'll surely understand why-"

"You should have told us, Cas."

"And what difference would that have made?"

"We could have found a replacement, that's what!" Dean burst out. "It didn't have to be you, again! Every time we fuck up, it's always you there to help us clean out the mess, and it's not okay! You've got Claire to worry about! Who's gonna watch over her if you're gone too?"

Cas's eyes filled with compassion, which Dean hated. "Claire can take care of herself. And I've made arrangements to have someone watch over her."

"Who? Another dick angel?"

"Hannah herself. She promised she'd look after Claire whenever she could."

"And what good of a promise is that?"

Cas stared at him, eyes steeling up, voice gravelly deep. "Dean, I made this decision all by myself. I've made this choice, and no one forced me. I chose to be here with you today. Can you not understand? After everything I've done to the angels, how could I ask any of them to sacrifice their grace for humanity?"

Dean fell silent. Damn, he hated it when Cas made sense. It made him want to throw him all over the alley.

"Whether you like it or not, Deano, this is happening. And before the two final members of this ridiculous party show up, we need to talk strategy," Gabriel interrupted.

"Who are the final members?" Sam asked.

"Hello boys," Crowley's voice said, as the King of Hell walked into the alley, two of his demon minions dragging an unconscious Metatron behind him.

"Where shall we leave the prisoner, my Lord?" one of the minions asked.

"Anywhere where either he or you won't bother us again," Crowley snapped. Then he addressed the group. "I've fulfilled my part of the deal, so I want what was promised to me."

Gabriel rolled his eyes before producing a Tablet from inside his shirt.

"Here, demon, you can rub your dirty little hands all over the thing, go nuts."

"You… you've made a deal with Crowley?" Sam asked, unable to form a more coherent sentence, pointing at both Crowley and Gabriel. Dean was too shocked to say a word.

"Well, duh!" Gabriel replied, before turning back to Crowley. "Now vanish."

The King of Hell nodded respectfully before turning around, and Dean couldn't help but let out a cackle.

"So you're archangel bitch now, Crowley?"

"Just looking after myself, Dean, something you do not do enough," the demon replied, not turning to look back until he was out of the alley. As his minions reached him, he stared at Dean. "Moose, see to it that Squirrel over there doesn't get in more trouble, okay?"

Sam nodded, frowning, but Crowley didn't immediately disappear. He stared at Dean for a few more seconds, before his mouth contorted into a genuine smile. "Goodbye, boys," he said softly, and then he was gone.

"So you're going to let Crowley run rampant with the demon tablet when we're all gone?" Sam spat at Gabriel.

"No, I'm counting on someone to keep him in check," the archangel grinned, pointing at the shadows that were forming on the other side of the alley as the sun went down.

"Ah, I thought Fergus would never leave!" A flash of bright red hair revealed the sassiest witch to have ever lived, and Dean smiled in spite of himself. He'd grown to love to hate Rowena.

"I still get to keep the Book of the Damned, don't I?" she eyed Gabriel cautiously.

"Naturally, my lady," Gabriel said gallantly, and the three men stared at him in disbelief. Gabriel _liked_ Rowena?

"So, is this where we're going to do the spell? It's a dirty awful place," she said in her thick accent.

"No, my lady, this place does not suit you. We're going in there," Gabriel said, pointing at a door in the alley, which opened as he spoke. Then he turned to Sam. "Would you bring the meat?"

Dean blinked, and then he realized he meant the unconscious Metatron. He pointed at him and Sam made a face of disgust. Dean couldn't blame him.

"Can't we just kill him here?" he asked.

Gabriel was too busy leading Rowena by the waist into the door –who looked rather pleased, which made Dean wanna vomit-, but he looked over his shoulder. "No, it's him we're giving the Mark."

"This piece of shit?!"

Gabriel smirked over his shoulder. "Relax, Dean, everything has been calculated."

Sam didn't bother to pick Metatron up, instead he rolled him over with his feet until they crossed the door, and then he pushed him down the stairs.

The small former angel grunted as he fell, and Gabriel's voice came from the dark. "Hey! It's not gonna work if you knuckleheads kill him before time!"

When they reached the ground after a long staircase, a bulb flicked on and they could see they were in a dusty basement.

"This is it? This is the place where we fight Darkness?" Dean said, raising his eyebrows.

Gabriel rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time. "Again, do I have to explain everything? No, this is where I teleport us all into the cave in Alaska where we'll perform the spell."

"You're taking us to _freaking Alaska_?!"

"Yes, it's the ideal place in this hemisphere, six months a year is night, six months a year day, and right now it's winter time. It's exactly where Darkness wants to be, and it's the best place to summon it."

"Wait, why don't we talk strategy first?" Cas suggested. "You were going to do that before Crowley appeared."

"There's not much strategy to explain, actually, Cassie. And the details I'll go into when we get there. The idea is that you three will act as shields, to contain us while I fight Darkness. When it has been weakened enough for the spell to work, I'll give a heads up to our lovely lady here, who will perform the spell that will bind the Darkness back into the Mark of Cain, which will be permanently tattooed to our final unconscious companion."

"I still don't understand how it's smart to put the Mark on Metatron," Dean said. "You're only giving the bastard more power."

"Death is going to relocate him, like he was going to do with you."

Dean frowned, confused. "But I killed Death."

Gabriel started to lose his patience. "How stupid do you have to be?! You cannot kill Death. He is not just a horseman, he is the Grim Reaper himself. He is what will outlast us all, even God. Who, or what on Earth made you think _you_ could kill him?"

"Well, he crumbled when I smacked the Scythe on-"

"You destroyed only an impersonation of him! And he was so pissed it was really hard to convince him to help this time! I had to promise him you would be well dead by the time he took care of bastard over here!"

"Oh. That makes sense."

Gabriel cracked his knuckles and sighed before casting lovey eyes upon Rowena. "Do you see what I have to deal with over here?"

"Oh, don't tell me! I had my own share a year ago, I know what you mean!" the witch replied with exaggerated blinking of the eyes. Dean felt sick.

Gabriel raised his eyebrows and clicked his fingers, and suddenly they were standing in an enormous icy cave.

"You ready, guys?"

Dean exchanged a glance with Sam. They'd been ready for a while now. Then they both stared at Cas, who nodded.

"You'll need to stand over here and hold hands."

Dean blinked a few times but then obeyed the instructions. He stood near Sam and Cas. Awkwardly clearing his throat, he grabbed his brother's hand and his best friend's hand. Sam's was sweaty, Cas' was strong.

Gabriel cooed. "Awww, don't you look pretty like that."

"Stop being a dick and just do the stupid spell, Gabriel," Sam snapped.

Rowena cleared her throat, and Gabriel turned to look at her with a smile. "Yes?"

She pointed vaguely at the three men. "Don't they have to be standing in a triangle?"

"That's… right, actually. A step closer, guys."

Cas stretched his shoulders, uncomfortable as they rearranged their positions.

"Is that it?" Dean snapped impatiently. "Can you just get on with it?"

"Eager to die, are we?" Gabriel said, and then he cracked his knuckles and neck. "Okay, here we go then. This might hurt a little bit, I'm going to fuse your souls together."

"Our-" Dean meant to repeat, but then Gabriel uttered a spell and he felt his body begin to burn. He glanced at Sam and Cas and saw them flinch in pain as their bodies began to glow in a blue light.

"Don't let go of your hands!" Gabriel warned. "If you do the spell will be broken and we only have one shot at this! Whatever happens, don't let go of your hands!"

As the burning became more and more painful, Dean shut his eyes and gripped Sam and Cas' hands tighter. He could feel every little bit of him being set on fire, like acid running through his veins. He couldn't remember hurting this much since Hell, but knowing that the two most important people in his life were there alongside him helped him manage the pain.

He could hear Gabriel screaming somewhere near and he dared to open his eyes a little bit. The archangel was standing inside the triangle their bodies formed, pronouncing a spell while spilling blood from a cut on his arm on the ground. The floor began to shake and both Sam and Cas snapped their eyes open as a circle of blackness opened beneath their feet.

Hair blowing around in sudden wind, Gabriel then pulled a vial from his jacket and poured something silvery blue into the black hole. Cas' grace. Dean looked at him, but Cas' had shut his eyes again, jaw hardened at the pain.

The hole started to suck harder, and the burning pain became worse. Actually, it felt like a different kind of pain, as if someone was pulling from his feet and stretching him to the impossible, ripping bit by bit of flesh and bone in his legs. Sam started to growl and for an instant Dean was tempted to break the spell and stop his brother's suffering, but he tightened his grip on Sam's hand instead. _We're together at this. I'm here for you._

Gabriel continued yelling the long spell as the pressure on their bodies became tighter, and everything around them became black, Rowena disappearing above as they were sucked by the black hole.

The archangel's voice rose louder and louder, hurrying up before the Cage ripped them all apart, and suddenly he finished with a scream, and everything ended.

Dean opened his eyes.

They were standing in a field, green grass under their feet, blue skies above, only the sound of the wind and birds chirping. There was no more pain.

"What the-"

But Gabriel shushed him up, looking around with wide eyes.

"Are we dead?" Sam asked.

"Are we in the Cage?" Cas asked.

"SHH!" Gabriel replied, gesturing for everyone to quiet out.

"Do you even know where we are?" Dean asked.

"No, but I'm going to figure it out," Gabriel said, looking around. "You just don't let go of your hands. I know that one spell is still working. But I don't understand…"

"What do you mean, 'that one spell'?" Dean asked, and then he felt dread rising in his chest. "Where did you get _the other_ spell?"

Cas glared at Gabriel. "You didn't get it from Rowena, did you?"

Gabriel looked at Dean and Cas in shock.

"You jackass!" Sam screamed, and pulled from Dean's hand.

Dean stared down at their hands. And pulled. And he couldn't let go of Sam's hand. They were glued together.

At once all three men started to pull from their hands unsuccessfully.

"I told you that spell was going to work. I looked for it myself."

"So what now?" Sam asked.

"Now I figure out where the hell we are and what did the spell do. But I can't leave the circle."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Because everything will go to shit if you do?"

"Right."

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_\- ok I don't feel the strength to do this now but the idea is, Luci and Michael appear and tempt Gabriel to exit the circle, and it takes him a minute to understand it's the Darkness trying to tempt him, and he warns the Winchesters that Darkness can make them see whatever it wants and that whatever happens they can't let go of their hands. And so it shows them the most hurtful things possible, and they don't even see what's Gabriel's battle. _

_As they fight to contain it (á la Guardians of the Galaxy?), Darkness will consume them slowly, while torturing them by taking the form of the people they loved and who died (FEATURING DARK!CHARLIE AND DARK!CLAIRE), and everything works in threes because HOLY TRINITY! _

_Finally the spell works and the fight ends as planned: The Darkness is locked inside the Mark of Cain on Metatron, who is thrown into the Void by Death. But Gabriel ends up in the Cage, and Dean, Sam and Cas die to save the world, hence they go to Heaven._

_And then in heaven Cas made arrangements for their Heaven to be the bunker, where the kitchen and the living room are the common areas, and each door to every room leads to the personal heaven of everyone the Winchesters have met and loved in their lives. Mary, John, Charlie, Kevin, Bobby, Jo, Ellen, Ash, everyone is there, sharing beers and jokes and waiting for them with smiles on their faces. And Cas dies as a human so he gets to share in their Heaven. When Dean asks why he died as a human (other than the dealio Gabe mentioned up there), Cas says that by being an angel on Earth he was like a retired soldier, they could call upon him whenever they wanted. As a human in heaven, he can stay in touch with the angels but he doesn't have to go when they call. He's not a soldier anymore. He can stay with them there forever now._

_So the ficky ends with Sam &amp; Dean sitting on a couch, relaxing for real for the first time in their lives (which are gone now?) and Sam says something to Dean that will not be literal but that will kind of imply Sam telling Dean to go and get Cas, and Dean rises and goes for Cas (DESTIEL HEAVILY IMPLIED) and that's where it ends. _

_The End._


End file.
